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(More customer reviews)Imagine putting together a committee whose purpose it is to write a book about the oceans around us, their history, and how our lives are affected by them. We would probably need a geologist, a mythology expert, a historian, a marine biologist, a physicist, a Biblical Scholar and his counterpart, an expert on Darwin's theories, an astronomer, a marine engineer, a seer or two, and last but not least, an explorer. Amazingly enough, Peter Freuchen is a sort of one man committee who fulfills all of these requirements and incorporates all of these viewpoints into his BOOK OF THE SEVEN SEAS.
Freuchen devotes chapters to a wide range of ocean related subjects such as the geological history of the earth from the time it was a flaming ball until it became the planet we inhabit today, then on to all aspects of the ocean ranging from currents to tides to to winds to the animals and plants that call the oceans home, ad infinitumn. Other chapters address the history of seafaring from rafts and sailing ships to submarines, discussions about great voyages from the early explorers to the Kon Tiki, great sea battles, and mysteries, mythology and marvels of the sea.
One discussion that I found particularly interesting revolved around the idea of the "seven seas." In reality, in Freuchen's own words, "there are at least seven times seven seas (or alternately) only one." The term was first used by ancient mariners of the Mediterranean world who knew only seven large bodies of water which they thought were the seven seas of the world. They also thought that the world was mostly land, between 85 and 90% in fact.
With the coming of the age of exploration, it was discovered that the ancients had made a rather serious error. There was a lot more water than had been thought, and many new seas were discovered. Because of these explorations and discoveries, the term "seven seas" was dropped and largely forgotten for several centuries. Then, in 1896, along came Rudyard Kipling. In looking for a title for one of his works, he rediscovered the term and incorporated it into his title.
In Freuchen's terms, "(Kipling) was a great man, and a popular man, (so) the world had to make his words good." To do this the geographers figured out a way to divide the ocean into seven parts. Again, according to Freuchen, it isn't a very good way, but we can get along with it "even if few of us can remember what the seven are."
For information purposes, the ancient and modern lists follow:
Ancient: Mediterranean, Red, China, West African, East African, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf.
Modern: Arctic, Antarctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian.
To summarize, and again quoting Freuchen: "The whole thing is a triumph of poetry over reality."
Freuchen's books have gone out of print and, in my estimation, that's a shame. All are worth reading both for the learning experience and for pure enjoyment.
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